Some Assembly Required
by Sokorra Lewis
Summary: A day in the life of the Los Angeles gang as they prepare for the newest arrival to thier extended family. Takes place seven months after Shattered Glass. Lizverse. Rated for some language.[Complete]
1. Part I

* * *

Authors notes: This is part of a series of one-shots (and one chapter fic not yet finished) called Lizeverse. In this verse, Fred and Spike are married with a daughter (Elizabeth...hence the name of the verse), Buffy and Angel have a son named Alec Summers, Connor is on good terms with his family, the people from Sunnydale have come to stay in LA, and Lindsey MacDonald's younger brother is also joining the family with a position in the company now that he's done with college. 

This story is pretty much fluff, which seems at odds with Faith and Wes, but this story does have it. This is a one shot, but I've broken it into parts because at the time being it's at least 17 pages and counting and I'm almost done so I'm thinking around 20 pages. So it's broken up for easier reading. When I finally post it to my website it will be one whole thing.

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Damnit!" Faith looked up from her catalog with an eyebrow raised. Wesley had been attempting to build the crib for the better part of two hours and as of yet only the bottom half had been completed. She hid a smile at his appearance. His hair was going everywhere and he was resorting to wearing glasses while he waited for his new contacts to arrive. His expression was one of frustration and determination.

It would probably be better if the AC hadn't decided to fail on them. If this kept up she was going to ask Wes to drive her to the office simply so she could cool down.

"You know, we could still call Xander." She said closing the catalog with a finger placed inside to keep her place. "I'm sure he'd be willing to help." Wes cast her a look. Xander had offered to help before but Wesley had stubbornly refused to have any help. She wasn't sure if it was because of his relationship with Xander or because of what hers had been that had been the problem.

"No, thank you. There is no reason to bother him. I'm managing perfectly well." Faith bit back the retort that came to mind, knowing Wes was having about as good of a day as she had bee having. There was no need to say something that would in all likely hood start a fight. They did not need that right now.

"It's nothing against you, Wes. He just wants to be involved. Plus with your back being the way it is, sitting on the floor is not going to help it any." She patted the spot beside her on the bed. "Take a break and come help me pick out some baby shit." He sighed but stood up, slowly to avoid the pain, and lay down beside her, accidentally knocking several magazines and catalogs on the floor. Neither of them bothered to pick them up. She reopened her catalog and settled down beside him so he could see.

To tell the truth, Faith still didn't quite believe she was going to be a mother. Even though Cordelia kept dragging her to baby boutiques and Fred was lecturing her on good diet options and Lorne discussing baby room plans it still didn't seem quite real.

Buffy had lots of advice about juggling being a slayer and being a mother to a young boy but considering the father was not a vampire, she really didn't really think she had to worry about her son breaking things with his supernatural strength. Gunn was filling the role of over-protective brother at the moment, taking turns with Xander and Angel. Spike was the least overbearing of the lot and treated her the same. He did have some good advice about tips when it came to slaying with a child in the picture.

Wes simply kept her from freaking out. When they had gone in for the first ultrasound he had calmed her down after she nearly hyperventilated at seeing the image on the screen. He also helped in some other matters as well.

She had no worries about Wes being a good father. She had seen him with Alec and Lizzie and knew he'd do a terrific job. She did however have worries about herself. Rehabilitated or not, she was still a murderer and she didn't think murderers became good maternal figures. Wes seemed to think she had gotten past that part of her life and would do just fine but she was still worried. She had only let that argument go after she made him promise to be the one to discipline their son. She didn't want to take any chances.

Sheila Wynham-Pryce did not seem to be bothered about her past. Strangely the woman had welcomed her with open arms and was ecstatic when she had learned about the baby. Her husband on the other hand did not seem as happy but then Faith had never really given a crap about his opinion so it mattered little.

"What do you think about a 'diaper genie'?" She asked, pointing to item H on page 20.

"I believe Cordelia is planning on getting us one as a shower gift."

"How'd you hear that?" She really hated surprise parties.

"Harmony." The undead queen of gossip and information.

"Ah, where else." Faith grimaced as the baby kicked. She was glad her due date was soon. The baby had been kicking up a storm lately and it was getting on her nerves. It was bad enough she couldn't reach her toes and felt like a whale, she did not need footprints on her insides.

"Baby kicking?"

"Hell, yeah. He never stops." Wes placed his hand on the spot where the baby had kicked and smiled when he felt it happen again. He was more delighted then she was by far with their child's kicking. But she forgave him a little since as he didn't feel them as much as she did and it was worth it to see that look of perfect happiness on his face for just a second.

"We need to think of a name." He looked up at her face and resituated himself next to her. It was way too hot but she didn't mind.

"Yeah. I suppose 'Hey Kid!' won't cut it," she responded with a smile. "Just…let's not name him after anyone? I don't want him to have something to live up to or live down." He nodded, bringing her closer. She smiled. They gave each other another brief kiss and settled back to continue searching through the catalogs while throwing various names for the other to think about.

* * *

"You know Cordelia, I doubt Faith will appreciate a surprise baby shower. I'd let her know about it," Willow said as she watched her friend browse through a shelf of baby clothes. With Aunt Cordy around the newest addition to the gang would always be in style. 

She didn't know why everyone was making a fuss about this baby more so then when Lizzie and Alec had been born. Of course there was the simple fact that it was _Faith and Wes's_ child. The poor kid. He was going to be born to a rambling geek (albeit a now hot looking one) and a slayer (whose vocabulary was probably not fit for young years at any point). His godparents would be a vampire and a physicist. So there was some normalcy coming in from Fred. However, the women had married a vampire herself and had no qualms about it, maybe not. The baby would also have a werewolf, a witch, and several demons watching over it. He was not going to have a normal childhood.

She had been very surprised when the couple had announced that Faith was pregnant. Well, Wes had announced. Faith had been fuming about something or other at the time and just glared at him. She hadn't even known they were a couple till the baby. It seemed many of the others guessed it beforehand but she had been very oblivious to any love-vibes between the two. But she had observed later and figured that even if the two dolts didn't figure it out themselves, it was clear that they loved each other despite their violent past with each other.

"That would ruin the surprise, Will. Besides she probably knows about it anyway. Someone told Harmony."

"Oh, then she definitely knows," commented Fred with a laugh from where she stood a display away with the accessories. Who knew a two month old would need a cell phone carrier? "Harmony is the greatest thing to communication since they invented the cell phone," she joked. "She'll tell you anything you want to know.

"Oh, look at this!" Willow cooed as she found the perfect little outfit. It was a rock t-shirt and a tiny pair of black jeans. Faith would love it. Cordelia sighed, but nodded her agreement silently that it would be ok. She had probably been hoping for the baby the cutesy outfit Cordelia had picked out for every day wear.

Tonight was the shower and they had to hurry to help Xander set up everything. OZ was helping him right now but Cordelia didn't quite trust them not to mess up her carefully laid plans. She only trusted Angel (but only a little) and Lindsey (since he knew how important it was) but neither could help till much later on. Lindsey was out of town for business, expected to arrive back in LA at about 6:30 and Angel had to actually run his business from time to time. Till then they would have to face the wrath of Cordelia: Party Planner should anything go wrong.

* * *

Their relationship was quite different then before. While never had forgotten what had happened, they had learned to forgive. They had become friends and later lovers. The two years the Faith had spent in prison plus Angel's visits during that time had helped calm her and allow her to let go of what she had no control over and accept responsibility for what she did. She had settled down and become (slightly) less reckless. She had traveled a little closer to the grey line known as normal. Wes on the other hand had to fall to understand her and maybe even Angel a little bit more. She hadn't delved deeply into what had happened during her imprisonment, instead allowing Wes to tell her in his own time. Although, when he mentioned his relationship with Lilah Morgan, she had nearly growled with jealousy and anger. That Bitch. Faith had never liked her, even when she was still living it large on the dark side. Something about her just felt wrong and the thought that she had touched what Faith considered hers had made her angry. 

Wes had found it amusing for some reason, even though he did reassure her that Lilah was in no sense competition. Which didn't really reassure her at all since the women was dead. It's harder to fight a ghost then a real flesh and blood woman. She did recognize the Lilah was important to Wes and she hadn't said anything to him about it.

They understood each other better now. What had cemented their friendship had been when she had helped Wes let go over his regret and guilt over Fred (although she never got the full story on that), and even what he had done to her with Angelus. After all, she could have said no. Wes had helped her with her own regrets and even more when they were searching for her half-sister Dana. They had helped each other find standing ground amongst the waters of regret, doubt and mistrust.

She grimaced, partly because of the poetic nature of her last thought and partly because her son once again tried to remind her of his existence. She rubbed the spot, hoping that would calm him.

"Baby kicking again?" Wes asked, half asleep on the bed beside her. They had stopped going through the catalogs and had decided to take a nap before going back to working on the crib or in Faith's case, looking for the stuff they still needed to get for the baby.

"Yes, pretty hard too. Either he's going to be a soccer player or he's confused on how to get out." Wes laughed lightly and she felt it more then heard it.

"Either that or maybe he just takes after you," he teased. She rolled her eyes at him and then glared to no effect since his eyes were still closed.

"You're lucky I love you," she responded. And she did. Granted she hadn't handled it well at first. She had woken up beside him one morning and suddenly realized she loved him. As par for the course when it came to something that scared her, she had freaked out and had alternately avoided him or acted like a complete bitch. Cordelia, oddly enough, had been the first to realize there was something behind her returning to acting that way. Queen C knew how to chew someone out. She and Fred had cornered her one day and called her a coward for what she did, causing her to admit to loving Wes out loud to them. Fred had actually squee'd, and Cordelia had responded with a 'Is that all?' They convinced her to talk to him about it.

_She found him in his office, talking on the phone to one of his contacts about a recent case of a demon ritual disturbing the peace. He looked up at her and watched her while finishing his phone call, never loosing eye contact. She remained silent, staring right back at him. He didn't look too happy to see her, which weakened her resolve to tell him. _

_"Faith." She didn't like the tone; it was cold and gave a very clear 'leave me the hell alone' vibe. _

_"Wes," she responded, finally moving to take a seat on one of the chairs on her side of the desk. He continued to watch her, not speaking. Finally she had enough of the games. "Look, I just wanted to come and say I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately." Ok, she _was _a coward. But at least she had apologized. He should know how hard it still was for her to do that. However, he remained silent. It made her nervous. Finally after a few minutes of the silence (she and silence never went good together) she stood up to leave. "I'll leave you alone now." _

_"Faith, wait!" She stopped as he grabbed her wrist and the combined effect was her nearly falling as he pulled her to him, expecting her to still be moving. She turned to find him standing close to her. "I'm sorry too." _

_"For what? You haven't done anything." _

_"Yes, I have. Or perhaps it is what I haven't done that's the problem. I know something's bothering you and I never stopped to ask what it was. I'm pretty sure it has to do with me in some way." _

_"You could say that," she responded taking the honest route. "Well, it's more me then you really. I don't really want to talk about it here though. Can we talk about this at home?" _

_"Sure. Who's though?" She blinked. She hadn't thought about the fact that while she spent most of her nights at Wes' apartment, she technically lived with Cordelia. She was referring to his apartment as home since it was their common ground. She rarely went back to her own. Cordelia probably liked it that way anyhow since she was used to living on her own. _

_"Yours, of course." _

_"Alright." He let her go finally and she left. She realized that he didn't move and watched her leave his office. Somehow that gave her a little more confidence to do this. _

Faith's trip down memory lane was interrupted by another shot of pain. This time however it was clear that it wasn't the baby kicking. Her eyes widened as she realized that those extra strong kicks could have just been early contractions. As she sat up she tried to shake Wes awake.

"Babe, wake up!"

"Wha?"

"Your son has decided it is time to make an entrance."

"Oh." She waited a few moments for her words to sink in as she struggled to lift off the bed. Movement like that was difficult when one was the size of a beached whale. If she hadn't been in pain she would have found how Wes reacted when he finally realized what she had said humorous. He began to go around and collect the things they needed to take with them. For the most part he was oddly calm, but she could still tell he was anxious about the situation.

Frankly she was terrified. In a few (hopefully) hours she was going to be responsible for another life. She started to hyperventilate and Wes tried to calm her down, finding only mild success. She managed to get downstairs (they lived on the second floor) and out to his car with the help of their neighbor Christine Harris. Wes tried to calling the cell phones of the girls with little luck. Neither could he contact Xander. Oz didn't have a cell phone.

After that he just concentrated on keeping Faith calm and getting her to the hospital.


	2. Part II

For Author Notes Please see first chapter

* * *

Lindsey had been lucky and managed to spring an earlier flight back from Tuscan where he had been for a business conference. The meetings had concluded early because the plaintiff in the case had decided to retract the case. So he got to come home a few hours early. He wasn't about to complain.

He was hoping to surprise Cordelia. They had only been dating for the past seven months, starting a week after Fred and Spike's wedding and he still liked to surprise her every once and awhile. The only one who knew he was coming in early was Xander and Oz. Oz was going to pick him up at the airport while Xander would distract Cordelia by messing up something in the big plans for the Pryce's baby shower.

However as he waited, his cell phone rang. He was surprised to see Faith's number come up on his screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lindsey, it's Wesley."

"Hey…"

"I know you're in Tuscan and all, but could you pass a message onto Cordelia if you could? I can't get her to answer her phone."

"Sure, though I doubt I'd have any more luck then you."

"Faith went into labor. We are at the hospital now. I know Cordelia wanted to be here."

"Already? I thought the baby wasn't due for another couple of weeks."

"Well, apparently it likes to be early."

When he had woken up that morning, Wes had two things planned for the day. One was to construct that damn baby crib and the other was to make sure Faith didn't kill anyone when they surprised her with the baby shower. Angel had let him know ahead of time, knowing how much both he and Faith hated surprises. Faith especially.

However, apparently he was going to spend the rest of the day sitting in the world's most uncomfortable chair. He had finished his call to Lindsey a few minutes ago and now was sitting in the room with Faith who looked ready to kill the doctor as he said she probably be in labor for several more hours since it was her first child.

He was nervous as hell. While he pretended to be all calm he really wasn't. Luckily Faith didn't seem to see through this particular act. His own experience with his father and what happened with Connor kept him weary about fatherhood. He never wanted children till Faith told him she was pregnant. Perhaps inwardly he had wanted children, because it seemed like a switch got thrown. He had wanted this kid despite his misgivings. He had been excited when the panic wasn't setting in.

Of course the timing had been awkward, but such was always the case when it came to their bunch of friends. Faith hadn't been happy about being pregnant. It took away her supernatural strength and left her weak. She also had never wanted kids. _Ever_. However, she seemed happier about it as time went on and she was slowly getting used to having normal strength and abilities.

It had happened so quickly though. While they had been unofficially living with each other for close to four years before she had gotten pregnant, it had only been a few short months earlier that they had finally made it official.

He could remember the night clearly because he had started the day thinking he was loosing Faith. She had been illusive the week previous and when he did run into her she would be disagreeable and try to get away from as fast as she could. It had forced him to think about their relationship. He had gotten used to expecting Faith there. Not having her was a rude awaking and he finally realized he had come to love her.

After about a week of avoiding him she had appeared in his office looking perfectly calm and beautiful. It was like he needed a fix because he couldn't look away from her. She apologized and refused his own apology. Then she agreed to talk with him at the apartment later that night.

_He opened the door to his apartment, finding Faith had already come home. She was sitting on the couch drinking a beer. She ha changed into a spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of cotton pants, her normal work out apparel. From the looks of it, she had already done her daily work out._

_She looked up and smiled which relieved him slightly. Maybe she wasn't all that mad at him. He wasn't completely convinced though. He threw his jacket down and sat beside her on the couch. She offered him her beer, and he took a sip._

"_Still want to talk?" She asked._

"_Yeah, I think we need to." He placed the beer down on the coaster she had on their coffee table. "I think we need to figure out what "us" is. We've put it off for too long." She nodded but was silent for a second. Both he and Faith had ignored the whole 'defining the relationship' part. He knew his reasons were mostly because at first he was in love with Fred and later he was too comfortable to ask questions._

"_I love you," she said bluntly after a moment or two. She sounded unsure as how to say what she wanted to say. "I realized this last week and I freaked out. And you know how it is when I freak out, I run and become a bitch to everyone." She looked at him briefly before standing and fiddling with the left out DVD cases._

"_Is that the truth?" She looked back at him._

"_When have I ever lied to _you_?" Which was a good point. She never lied directly to him. The others, yes, but she usually was truthful to him._

"_I thought I'd ask." He knew that for Faith, actions spoke louder then words. She had been given a lot of words that never panned out. So he stood up and walked over to her. He then proceeded to kiss her, hoping that he was conveying that the feeling was mutual. It never occurred to him that for once, the words may have been better._

Sadly, he hadn't actually realized that she would need it said till after the fiasco around Fred and Spike's wedding. She had been off that evening and it wasn't till after she'd failed during the attack that he found out she was pregnant. He had been surprised, which was an understatement really. He hadn't figured that he would start his own family, let alone with Faith. But after the surprise had worn off (and he had his hour of pure panic) he had been happy about it. This had surprised Faith. Apparently she had expected him to be angry about it. She didn't think he loved her and thought that having a permanent connection with her wasn't something he would want. He had finally corrected her on the matter when the situation with Lizzie had been finished.

"Cordelia," Xander commented with a sigh. "The flowers are fine." Lindsey owed him one. Cordelia had rearranged the arrangement of flowers at least five times in the last hour. Lorne should have done this. He was a little more relaxed then Cordelia and knew how to deal with her when she was in this kind of mood.

Luckily he was saved from her response by the arrival of Lindsey and Oz. The lawyer calmed his girlfriend down by repeating Xander's words and generally just by being there. However what he said next made them all forget the stupid flowers.

"Wes called me at the airport. Faith went into labor about an hour ago."

"Why didn't he call me?" Cordelia asked as they all rushed out of the room to go to the hospital or to tell others the news.

"He did, no one answered," Xander commented, holding up her phone, which she had forgotten to charge earlier and had left behind at the party room when she went shopping. No one had answered because it had been dead.

"Oh…"

"Buffy! No one can get her either. No Cellphone rule again." Willow exclaimed as she got into her car.

"Why don't you go pick her up and tell her? She was supposed to be done a few minutes ago right?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, good idea. See you guys later." Fred, Oz and Xander got into the van and drove off to tell those at W&H. Willow went to get Buffy and Cordelia went with Lindsey in her own car.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that you were coming back early!" Cordelia said once they pulled out and were on their way to the hospital.

"I wanted to surprise you," Lindsey replied with a smile. "I got you something from Phoenix."

"Oooo...What?"

"You'll see."

Fred found Xander's notebook halfway back to the office. Xander tried to grab it back but she managed to keep it out of his reach. Flipping through it she recognized it as a book. A book about slayers, ones named Buffy and Faith in particular.

"You're writing a story about Buffy?" Xander looked slightly embarrassed.

"She said it was ok. It will be considered a fiction book since it's about Vampires even though it's true."

"Pretty cool idea, Xan." Oz commented pulling into the firm's parking garage. "Are you going to sell it?"

"Not sure yet," Xander answered, his friend's approval meaning a lot.

"Got a title for it?"

"_Some Assembly Required_."

"Interesting title", Oz commented and Fred murmured her agreement.

"I figured it fit us well," Xander explained. "Since that kinda described our family pretty well."

"How so?"

"Well, we were brought together piece by piece. First there was Buffy, Willow and myself and soon there after Giles. Then we gained Faith and Oz, followed by Wes. Then the family broke, but we gained Gunn, Fred, Spike, Dawn and Lindsey. So our family was assembled and it wasn't at all easy."

"That's one way to look at it," Fred said with a smile.


	3. Part III

"Hello?" 

"Hey, Mum."

"Wesley!" Shelia Wyndam-Price exclaimed. "Roger, our son is on the phone." There was a mutter in the background that sounded like his father responding. "So how are you dear?"

"I'm fine." A pause. "Faith went into labor a few hours ago."

"But isn't she early," she asked, her voice half concerned and half excited.

"Only by a couple of weeks. She's fine. Not quite happy at the moment," he added with a laugh, "but she's fine."

"I don't doubt it. Luckily for your father, he wasn't in the room when I had you or either of your siblings."

"How are Nick and Addie?"

"Fine. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new nephew." She could hear some commotion in the background noise of the phone.

"I need to go, Mum. Faith's throwing things at the doctor again."

"See you in a few hours then, sweetheart."

* * *

"Shelia, I don't think we need to go this instant."

"Roger, our first grandchild is going to be born in the next couple of hours and I want us to be there!"

"Really, I'm sure they will want some time alone with their son before the 'family' descends."

"They will need our help. Just because you don't have a great relationship with your son doesn't mean we shouldn't go. You need to fix that by the way."

"He disappointed me. He had two, I repeat, two slayers and he lost both."

"He lost both because you didn't train him properly and you didn't look at the situation with the idea that these girls are people, not a machine or tool you can use any which way you wanted." This was an old argument between them. Shelia had never approved of the way the Watcher's Council had handled the situation. Roger had blown off her opinion as being influenced by her friendship with Rupert Giles. He saw her concern as not believing in her son. Which was ironic now since it was Roger who didn't believe in Wesley.

He, like many of the older watchers, also disapproved of Wesley's relationship with Faith. She had no problem with her son's chosen partner or the fact that she was a slayer. In fact she would quite like it if she could call Faith her daughter-in-law. Despite the younger women's…interesting personality and history, Shelia liked her. Especially since she seemed to care about her son. The watchers of old (who were no longer in control) had another view of the relationship.

They had only one back up for their disapproval other then their ages which were no longer a problem as Faith had been legally an adult for several years now. There had been on known case of a watcher getting involved with his slayer. That slayer had been turned into a vampire. Shelia personally thought that particular event had more to do with the fact that they had switched watchers on the poor girl then the fact that her previous watcher was also her romantic partner.

The council had no say in this case anymore anyway. Not only had Rupert and the newer watched not cared in the slightest (or at least hadn't made any comments to that affect), Wes and Faith were just barely part of the new council. No one wanted to risk loosing the longest continuous active slayer to date. And loosing Faith would also mean loosing Buffy, the oldest active slayer and someone who had a lot of influence with the newer generation of slayers. They were both important to the history and the moral of the new council.

"Besides," she added, "How many times has a slayer given birth?"

"Five, all sons."

"Ah, interesting."

"Actually it is, if you think about it," Roger mused. She smiled. Distract a man by getting him curious. "You'd think that since a slayer is a gender driven role that they would have daughters, but not one slayer to date has given birth to a female child."

"Well, maybe we can get a granddaughter out of Faith as well," she responded. Roger sighed, knowing that Shelia could argue with him till he was blue in the face and would only stop then to give him CPR before continuing.

"I wish they'd have at least married before the child was born. It would look a lot better."

"For whom darling? You or them? Commitment doesn't need a piece of paper. But I do think they should get married. It would be nice to have Faith officially in the family."

"Perhaps we should give our son a little hint and present him with your mother's engagement set. You planned on giving it to Wesley anyway. Perfect opportunity." She smiled, knowing that at least at this time she had won the argument.

"True, why don't you get our tickets and I'll pack."

* * *

Buffy was just signing Alec out of the courthouse daycare center when Willow caught up with her.

"Buffy!" She looked up at Willow from her crouched position in front of her son, whom she was trying to get to wear his shoes. "You'll never guess what just happened. _Faithishavingthebaby!_"

"Whoa…slow down Wills. What was that?"

"Faith is having the baby. As in now."

"Baby?" Alec asked. "Aunt Faith?"

"Yes, sweetie," Buffy said to her toddler. "Aunt Faith is going to have a baby."

"Will she have to wait like we did with Blackie?" Blackie was the Pomeranian puppy Angel and Buffy had bought recently for Alec. They had to wait a few weeks for him to be weaned from his mother and get all his shots. Unfortunately Alec hadn't realized there was a slight difference between a baby and a puppy.

"No, Sweetheart. But the baby is going to be real small so you will have to wait a little till you play with him," Buffy answered as the left the courthouse. She turned back to Willow. "When did she go into labor?"

"A few hours ago. Wes says the doctor thinks it will be awhile yet though."

"The doctor doesn't know Faith's a little different then the average first time mother, does he?"

"Nope," Willow said with a grin. "Last report had her throwing things at him. I suspect he will have realized that by the time we get there. Did you drive or did Angel drop you off?"

"Angel dropped me off."

"Well, I'll drive you to the hospital then. Do you think there is a maximum for the people in the waiting rooms?"

"Probably but I'm sure they won't kick us out, Willow," Buffy answered with a grin. "They have been expecting us."

* * *

Oz and Xander went to go tell Angel while Fred searched for her husband. She found Spike in Jeremy MacDonald's office, helping the new 'Director of Services' rearrange his furniture. She smiled and watched the two for awhile before announcing her presence. Jeremy was more laid back about the placement then Spike. Every time Jeremy would leave something crooked, Spike would straighten it. Fred had always found that quirk of his to be humorous.

Her light laugh attracted their attention and both men smiled. Jeremy reached her first and gave her a big hug. She returned it with a smile. Unlike his older brother, Jeremy was a lot more demonstrative. Lindsey was more subtle about letting you know how he felt and with the exception of his brother and now Cordelia, he was more likely just to say hello rather then hug someone.

Once he let go, she got a hug from her husband and a kiss on her forehead.

"What's up, love?"

"Looks like the guest of honor won't be appearing tonight," she began. "Faith went into labor earlier this afternoon."

"Wow, talk about timing." Jeremy said with a smile. "Now she gets to miss her surprise party." Everyone was quite aware that Faith didn't like surprise parties and only Cordelia and Buffy thought it had been a good idea to have it anyway.

"Well, I doubt she did this on purpose," Fred said teasingly. Jeremy didn't say anything but he did smile back at her. Spike and Jeremy returned to fixing the last of the furniture while the conversation continued.

"Did they come up with a name yet?" Spike asked.

"Not that I know of." I do know that Dawn's suggestion of Jr. will not be used. Faith was adamant about that."

"Poor kid." Jeremy commented. "He's got to have the nuttiest family ever. He's got a slayer as a mother, a watcher who claims not to be a watcher as a father and a series of relatives that may or may not be completely human let alone blood related. He's never going to know what normal is."

"Well, it will be normal for him. He's got Lizzie and Alec to play with and later this one," Fred said pointing to her own slightly rounded stomach. They had decided to let this one be a surprise and not learn the gender of the baby. Although for some reason both Spike and Lizzie felt it was going to be a boy. "So he'll have someone who is in the same situation as he is in to relate to."

"True enough. I've heard all the babies are making Cordelia want to have one of her own," Jeremy added with a smile.

"Lindsey or Harmony."

"Harmony of course, although Lindsey has mentioned that he's afraid she'll ask for one soon."

"He doesn't want kids?"

"Oh, he does. He's just not too sure he's ready for one right now. Maybe in a couple of years. Although he may not have a choice in the matter if Harmony the all-knowing secretary has guessed correctly that Cordelia's already pregnant."

"And how would Harmony know that? Although I've seen her buy some clothes today that I know are not for a boy. Maybe Harmony is right and Cordelia is planning on having a little girl. It would be nice having all the kids in the same age group."

"Well, don't tell Lindsey because I'm not too sure he'd be happy when he finally hears about it," Jeremy continued. "Especially if everyone knows before he does. I bet they do have a girl."

"Just as long as they don't name her after either parent, I think they'd make great parents. Cordelia would get someone who doesn't mind her fashion advice and Lindsey would get daddy's little princess." Spike commented with a smile. "I bet she knows the main statutes of the law and the top five designers by the time she's two."

Fred laughed at the image of a little girl arguing her position in a debate on whether Givenchy or Dior was more productive.

"She'd be cute that's for sure."

"Yeah. My brother and his girlfriend are not lacking in good looks," Jeremy stated. "Mom would be ecstatic if Lindsey settled down. She's been worried about him. She adores Cordelia too and has been dropping hints about not being objectionable towards planning a wedding."

"Does she know about Cordelia's party skills at all? She'll become a bridezilla."

"I don't know about that," Fred said still smiling. "She's calmed down a lot from Sunnydale from all accounts. She wasn't too bad at the shower till Xander started messing the flower arrangements on purpose."

* * *

There was one thing that always made Lindsey worry…when Cordelia was silent. And the entire trip to the hospital she hadn't spoken a word. Not only that but she kept staring out the window with this worried look on her face.

"Something wrong," he asked as he finished parking the car.

"No," she said as she got out. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Kids. Having them and all that."

"Understandable, considering."

"Did you ever think about it?"

"Having kids?" Cordelia nodded. "Well, sure I guess. Not really something I've spent a lot of time dwelling on, but I suppose later down the line I'd want one or two." He frowned at her expression. It still had that worried expression. "Why?"

"No reason."

"Liar." That was one thing about their relationship. Both were good at hiding when they were lying (she the actress, he the lawyer) but they never seemed to be able to do it with each other. This made things alright in the end, because sometimes it was so easy to slip into the act of what they wanted to be instead of what they were.

She turned around to look at him with a glare. He just looked back, knowing eventually she'd tell him what was wrong. And he was right."

"I might be pregnant," she said after a few moments. She turned around and started walking towards the welcome desk, leaving him stunned behind her. He had expected something about getting older and seeing all her friends being married and having kids, not that she might be pregnant.

"Might be?" he asked when he caught up with her as she got directions to the maternity ward waiting room.

"Might be. I haven't had the courage to actually get the test yet. Hence why I wasn't about to tell you anything."

"What were you going to do if I said I never wanted kids?" That had bothered him for some reason.

"Been upset, probably. Besides, it might just be stress." She paused in the middle of the hallway. "I'm hoping its just stress. I'd loose my figure."

Lindsey just sighed, deciding he'd think about this more when he was alone and could think about it. He didn't want to think about the fact that she had practically said she didn't want to have kids, and that it had hurt for some reason.


	4. Part IV

Blake Edward Wyndam-Pryce was born at 11:24 pm, with family and friends around. Faith was very happy to have that experience behind her and told her boyfriend quite blankly that it would not be repeated. She was surprised though that she felt so happy to be holding the baby afterwards. He already had some hair on his head, blue eyes (Everyone said they would probably change, but she kind of hoped they'd stay blue), and all the fingers and toes he should have. The doctors said he was perfectly healthy, despite being a little early, and probably could go home as soon as the next day, depending on how Faith checked out.

She knew full well she'd be better then ok. Granted, the doctors didn't know she was a slayer and even if they did, slayers rarely lived long enough to have children so the case history was a little thin. Buffy had looked up previous cases when she had gotten pregnant with Aiden and found that only four slayers in the history of Slayer-dom had given birth before her…and all the sons. So it had been expected that her child would be a boy. She had hoped it would have been a girl just to mess up the precedent.

She relaxed against the pillow, watching as father and son bonded. Despite feeling tired, she wanted to watch them walking back and forth near the door of the room. She never expected this…this warm, happy feeling. Just knowing her family was nearby.

This _mushy_ feeling. She squinted her nose at that thought but was soon distracted when Blake began to cry; already hungry again.

* * *

After Blake had been fed, both he and Faith had fallen asleep. Wesley had approached Xander about finishing the crib. He could admit when he was finally beaten by something and Xander _had_ offered to do it before. Xander gave him an understanding smile and agreed, taking the keys to the apartment, allowing Wesley to stay with his girlfriend and infant son. Faith still wasn't too comfortable about hospitals and Wesley didn't want to leave them anyway.

Most of the group dispersed soon after, telling Wesley congratulations. Fred and Spike went home to their daughter since the babysitter had actually been watching Lizzie for over an hour extra. Oz, Willow, and Jeremy went home (they all lived near each other), and Xander went to the apartment that Wesley and Faith shared to finish up the crib so it was ready in the morning.

Lindsey and Cordelia stayed and kept him company, and he didn't let them know he could see that they were using him as a diversion from something else. Lindsey offered to pick up Wesley's parents from the airport after they had called and said they were going to be landing within a couple of hours. That left Wesley and Cordelia alone outside Faith's room talking about movie the baby shower around so that it would happen while his parents were there.

Cordelia had the whole thing planned out by the time Lindsey got back. Since Faith was still asleep, Roger, Lindsey and Wesley went to the cafeteria to get some coffee or hot tea, which left Cordelia and Shelia alone to plan the baby shower.

By the time they had returned, Faith had awoken and the three girls were chatting about the arrangements they would implement in the new baby room. Well, it was mostly Cordelia and Shelia discussing things while Faith looked on and tried to keep her mouth shut before she said something her child shouldn't have to hear so young. She shared a look with Wesley before rolling her eyes at another comment about how something was cute.

She did not do cute.

* * *

"Shelia was interesting," Lindsey said as he and Cordelia walked towards her car. "She seemed to get along well with Faith."

"Yeah, they seem to get along well, although Shelia's still hoping to turn Faith into a lady. She hasn't given up hope yet," Cordelia joked as they reached the car. She stopped when she noticed he paused a few feet from the car. Turning to face him, she went to ask him what was wrong, but he beat her to it.

"We need to talk," he said softly, moving to sit on the back bumper of his car. "I've been thinking about our conversation earlier."

"Oh, can we not talk about that." She didn't want to think about it.

"We have to. Even if you're not pregnant the subject is going to come up later on and we might as well face it now." She sighed and sat down beside him. He was right; they did need to deal with it. And even though she figured she probably wasn't, there was still a chance she was.

"I don't think I'd be a good mother. You know how in high school there was that class where you were sent home with the toy babies overnight? I failed that." She commented.

"First of all, that was years ago, and I'm sure you'd do better when your own child." He paused. "You know, I'm not going to be upset regardless of how this goes. If you're not pregnant, then that's fine and we will just go on. Maybe someday down the road we will have kids. I definitely want those kids with you though. And if you are, then I'll deal with it because I would want the baby. I'd probably be a lot more frantic and panic way too much about things but I'd be there and I'd be happy."

"Really?" She asked looking at him. To be quite honest, she and Lindsey had never really talked about the future. When they first had gotten together it had been more out of shock than anything else and then later because neither had wanted to think about it. It had taken her a couple of months to finally realize she wanted a forever with him, even if she had hated him less than a year before.

"Really." He smiled a little bit and squeezed her hand.

"Really. But I think we should probably find out for sure though, don't you."

"Yeah, probably a good idea."

* * *

"I don't think this vehicle is going to suit the family, Wesley." Roger commented as he surveyed the car that Wesley was leading him too. It was one of those SUV things he kept hearing about.

"It's fine Dad. We checked into everything. This isn't exactly our first day knowing we were going to be parents."

"Well, if you are sure." He paused before saying his next words. "Your mother and I have been talking. I know you and Faith have no intention of marrying in the near future, but we wanted to give you the option of using the family ring if you choose to do so." Wesley stopped walking and turned to look at his father.

"While I'm not surprised mum wanted this, I'm kinda surprised that you would have agreed to this. You haven't exactly been the biggest supporter of my relationship with Faith."

"Well, things change. I may not be entirely happy with how you two went about it, but she apparently makes you happy, and she seems to understand the importance of what we do. And your mother loves her. Therefore I'd be happy to have her officially added to the family."

"I'm glad you think that way. I was actually thinking about asking her to marry me soon."

"Do you think she will say yes?"

"I'm hoping so, but with Faith you never know. She's never been too happy with the idea of marriage. And I need to find a way to ask without her thinking it's because of Blake."

"Well, if it was, I would have thought you would have asked months ago, back when you first found out about the child. After all, it's a little late to marry for appearances now."

* * *

Cordelia sat on the tile floor of her bathroom waiting for the results of what could be a life changing event. Lindsey was still sleeping in their bedroom. They had talked almost until dawn about things so she wasn't expecting him to wake up anytime soon. She hadn't slept at all. She needed to do this, she needed to know or find closure or whatever it is she would find after the test came out.

The whole idea of her being a mother was kinda scary. She wasn't completely self-centered; she knew she could be an unobservant and insensitive bitch sometimes. She wasn't exactly what she'd call _Mother Material_. Then again, Faith was now a mother, and she seemed even less made for motherhood then Cordelia. She seemed to be doing ok so far though so perhaps there was hope for Cordelia. Then again, it had only been one day, hours actually but Cordelia was an optimistic person.

She peered up at the test. Another minute or so and she'd have a result. She closed her eyes and leaned it against the bathroom wall. She tried to imagine what her child would like. She tried to imagine a boy, but couldn't. The girl came to her mind instantly. Five years old with her hair and Lindsey's eyes. Totally a Daddy's girl but had her mother's sense of fashion. Well, as much as a five year old could have. She was smart, ahead of her class although she was a bit mischievous.

She opened her eyes with a start. The image in her head was too clear and two precise to be her imagination. She had a feeling she knew exactly what it was, and what the test results say.

"Cor?" She turned to the door when she heard Lindsey's sleepy voice come from the next room.

"In here," she responded. He opened the bathroom door a few seconds later and peaked around, his hair still messed up from sleeping.

"Why are you setting on the floor?" He moved towards her and sat down next to her. She silently pointed at the test kit still setting on the sink that he had apparently missed on his way in. "Oh."

"Yeah." She responded. "I think it's done. Haven't had the nerve to check it, but I think I know what it will say. "They sat for awhile looking up at it before Lindsey spoke again.

"Probably should see what it has to say." Cordelia motioned with her hand that he could do the honors. He raised himself so he could get the test, and then came back down to sit next to Cordelia, his back resting against the tub. "Positive."

"I'm beginning to wonder if there is something in the water supply at work," she joked with a slight smile. He grinned back at her and pulled her into a hug, her head leaned against his shoulder and under his cheek. She sighed and hugged him back.

"You ok?" She looked up at him at the question and just looked at him for a few seconds.

"Yeah. Just not a big fan of radical change." She leaned back against him and closed her eyes. "What do you think about a girl?"

"That would be nice."

"You wouldn't have cared either way would you?" She said with a grin.

"No, not really."

"I tried imagining what our kid would like," she started, sitting up a little straighter so she could look at his face instead of just talking into his chest. "I couldn't picture a boy, but when I switched to a girl I got this image that was so clear." She paused. "I'm almost certain it was a vision. I could see Lizzie in the background, eight years old or so, and there was our daughter and then I could also see another little girl, who was joining in on all their adventures. They were a group. Those three girls…" Suddenly something occurred to Cordelia.

"What is it?" Lindsey asked noticing that she had gone white.

"What if…What if she gets my visions? I mean, they don't hurt much anymore but still."

"First, we shall deal with it if it should come up. Second, I doubt she'd inherit your visions and not the DNA to handle them." She nodded. It made sense. After a minute of two of calming down, she suddenly smiled.

"We're having a baby," she said, looking at him. He grinned back.

"Yeah, we are."

* * *

Faith was glad to be home. All she wanted to do was put Blake to bed, and climb in her own and sleep for a couple hours. She doubted that she get even that much, but that is what she wanted. Shelia had helped her prepare for going home, talking a mile a minute about the shopping she and Richard planned to do that evening. They wanted to get some things for Blake as well as some items for Wesley's brother and sister.

It had caught her off guard when, after Richard and Wesley had gone to get the car, Shelia had brought up marriage. She had never really thought about it. While Shelia had not gone right out and asked 'are you planning on marrying my son' she knew that Shelia was trying to figure the answer to that question out. Personally, she would have no problem with marrying Wesley as long as he meant it and she got to keep her last name. She definitely intended to be with him for as long as she could see. She didn't need the paper to tell her that would happen though, so it was up to Wes to take the step if he wanted to.

Shelia had changed the subject when they got to the front entrance and Wesley and Richard were waiting for them. Shelia and Faith got into the back with the baby while Richard rode up front with Wesley. It was odd how friendly and…well, family like the trip home had been. Richard and Wesley were having a conversation that didn't require a referee, and Shelia and she were laughing at them in between turns playing with the baby.

Xander met them at the parking lot, helping them carry up all the bags they now would have as a constant companion. Faith already knew she'd have to have a couple stashes of stuff so she didn't have to lug that stuff everywhere. Walking into the house (and balanced she might add for the first time in a couple months) she noticed it was set up for a small party. Apparently after the failure of the surprise birthday shower, everyone decided to have a welcome-home party for her and Blake. It was smaller and less ornate than the one Cordelia planned, but everyone was still there. The crib was finished and ready for Blake so the first thing she did after everyone had a chance to 'ooo' and 'awe' over him was to put him down for his nap.

She went back to the party because even if she was tired, she wasn't _that_ tired to miss a party. There was cake, and other goodies of an unhealthy nature. Clearly Xander had been the caterer. She didn't mind, though, and just went around having a good time with her friends. Her family.

It was odd, to have a family. She never really had one. Her biological one had been torn apart when she was young and her sister Dana was almost a stranger to her, living in England with her boyfriend Andrew. The Scoobies had given her family for a little bit till she got overwhelmed by them and the Mayor. She regretted doing what she did, but not for the feeling she had while she worked for him. He had been the first to give her a true sense of family. And then Angel. Angel had brought her back to this one and she was happy he had.

She remembered a while ago Xander had rambled on about writing a book about their family. About how it wasn't one borne but rather one assembled and yet stronger then blood. She felt he was right about that, and looking around her living room, where they all stood laughing and having a good time (or a messy time in the case of Alec who had cake all over him and Angel who was trying to clean him up but got himself messy in the process).

Wesley came behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey there," she said softly, leaning back to kiss his cheek."

"Hey," he responded with a return kiss to her forehead. They stood their comfortably for a few minutes, soaking in the scene. Their family, crazy and complicated and everything in between.


End file.
